Cotton, Slavery and the South Chapter 11

The Cotton Economy Crop Shifts –Tobacco –Rice

Sugar Long-Staple (Sea Island) Cotton Short-Staple Cotton

“King Cotton” Emerges advent of the cotton gin made Short- Staple cotton much easier to produce

Social Demand Spread

–by 1820 –by 1850 –by 1860 –at the start of the Civil War Cotton constituted nearly two thirds of the total export trade of the USA and was bringing in $200 million a year

Social impact –whites –Blacks

Southern Trade and Industry Other business areas

Commercial sector Transportation

Southern Society and Culture Philisophical Grandations Actual Gradations

Social Stratification among whites –most farmers were dependent on the system *Fake Smile*

The “Peculiar Institution” Slave Codes –forbade slaves

Slave Codes Cont’d –If a master killed a slave, the act was generally not considered a crime

Size Mattered Large vs. Small Plantations

Slave Life –Workday (in house) slaves lived/worked closely to master slave women

Slave Life Cont’d –“Enough” –Health

Slave Life Cont’d –Slavery in the Cities –rare

Slave Life Cont’d –Free African Americans 250,000 free African Americans in slaveholding states at the start of the Civil War –Slave Trade professional business of slave traders

Slave Life Cont’d –Slave Trade Cont’d –Acceptance and Rebellion at two extremes, slavery could produce two very different reactions

The Culture of Slavery Language and Music –language sometimes incorporated African speech patterns into English Jennifer Ong

Religion –Slaves became Christian (Baptist or Methodist) due to missionary efforts

Family Structure –marriage not legal Jennifer Ong